Metaplanet Seeks ¥130.3 billion (~$880m) in Overseas Share Sale to Fuel Bitcoin Buying Spree

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet Inc., one of Japan’s fastest-growing corporate Bitcoin treasuries, announced plans Wednesday to raise roughly ¥130.3 billion (about $880 million) through an international share placement — a capital raise the company says will be used mainly to buy more Bitcoin and expand its covered-call “Bitcoin Income” business. The move marks the latest and largest visible step in Metaplanet’s aggressive drive to accumulate a massive corporate Bitcoin holding under its so-called “555 Million Plan.”

The deal in brief

Metaplanet said in an Aug. 27 filing that it will seek net proceeds of about ¥130.3 billion by selling new shares to overseas investors. The initial plan contemplates selling 180 million shares in an underwritten placement, with an option to increase the sale by up to 375 million additional shares — a structure that could bring the total newly issued shares to as many as 555 million, depending on how the option is exercised. The company said the offering will be conducted through overseas placements to institutional investors and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act.

Metaplanet has indicated the issue price will be set in a pricing window in early September (Sept. 9–11 in public filings) and that payment and settlement will follow shortly after. If fully executed, the sale would lift the company’s outstanding shares materially — Cointelegraph noted a possible increase from roughly 722 million outstanding today to about 1.27 billion shares post-issuance.

Use of proceeds and corporate aims

Metaplanet said the bulk of the proceeds — roughly $835 million of the planned ~$880 million raise, by market reporting — will be deployed to buy Bitcoin for the company’s treasury. A smaller tranche (about $45 million) is earmarked for the firm’s “Bitcoin Income Business,” which generates revenue by selling covered call options on the company’s BTC holdings. The company’s public statements and filings frame the financing as part of a long-range strategy to protect corporate value from currency weakness and inflation while aggressively expanding its Bitcoin reserves.

Metaplanet has been steadily adding to its holdings this year: recent public disclosures and market reports place its Bitcoin inventory at roughly 18,900–19,000 BTC (valued in the low billions of dollars at current prices), a level that already ranks the firm among the world’s larger corporate holders. The company’s stated medium-term goal under the “555 Million Plan” is to own more than 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027 — a target that would equal more than 1% of Bitcoin’s total supply if achieved. 

Market reaction and financial mechanics

Metaplanet’s shares jumped on the news in Tokyo trading, reflecting investor appetite for the company’s Bitcoin-first strategy and the signal that management intends to keep expanding the treasury. Crypto market briefings and trade desks reported an immediate share bump of several percentage points after the filing. At the same time, analysts pointed to significant dilution risk for existing shareholders if the full 555-million-share issuance occurs — a point investors will scrutinize when the price is set in September. 

The offering is structured as an offshore placement and follows earlier corporate steps including a shelf registration and previous announcements of multi-tranche capital plans tied to Bitcoin accumulation. That structure gives Metaplanet flexibility to time sales to market conditions but also raises governance questions about shareholder consent and long-term dilution. The company’s investor-relations disclosures indicate the shelf and related shareholder resolutions have been brought forward in prior shareholder notices.

Regulatory and market risks

The size and ambition of the raise expose Metaplanet to several risks. First, the placement depends on sufficient appetite among institutional overseas investors for a Japan-listed firm whose principal value driver is cryptocurrency exposure — an investor base that has been enthusiastic in the recent rally but can be volatile. Second, concentrated corporate BTC purchases at scale can move markets; very large, rapid accumulations risk paying up-market premiums and increasing execution costs. Third, the corporate governance trade-offs — issuing potentially hundreds of millions of new shares, altering voting and ownership structures and expanding derivative activity via covered-call strategies — will draw scrutiny from Japanese regulators and some institutional investors.

Finally, international placements not registered in the U.S. reduce friction from U.S. securities rules but limit the pool of retail U.S. investors; they also require careful compliance with multiple cross-border disclosure regimes and can attract questions about transparency if major elements of the program are handled offshore.

What management says

Metaplanet’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, has posted multiple updates on X (formerly Twitter) framing the financing as part of a deliberate campaign (the “555 Million Plan”) to accelerate Bitcoin accumulation and boost corporate value for shareholders. In his public posts he has emphasized scale and speed as competitive advantages in building a corporate BTC treasury. The company’s formal filing limited public commentary while the offering is ongoing, citing legal restrictions.

Analysis

Metaplanet’s latest move crystallizes a broader trend: publicly traded companies are increasingly treating Bitcoin as an operational hedge and a core balance-sheet strategy rather than a speculative side bet. The headline numbers — ¥130.3 billion raised in this tranche, a possible 555 million-share program, and a target of 210,000 BTC by 2027 — are audacious and, if realized, would materially reshape how corporate treasuries participate in crypto markets.

But ambition and execution risk are not the same thing. The placement’s success depends on calm markets, cheap execution for large BTC purchases, and patient capital that accepts both dilution and concentrated crypto exposure. Institutional investors who buy into the overseas placement will be betting on (1) Metaplanet’s ability to convert equity into BTC at attractive prices, (2) ongoing investor tolerance for Bitcoin-led valuation narratives, and (3) regulatory stability across jurisdictions where Metaplanet will sell shares and make purchases. If any of those pillars wobble, Metaplanet could face sharp share-price reversals and criticisms that it is overleveraging shareholder equity to pursue a single-asset bet. 

A second, less-discussed risk is market impact. A company trying to buy tens of thousands of BTC over 24 months will compete with ETFs, miners, funds and other corporate treasuries — and that competition can push the price higher during buying waves, worsening the economics of each incremental purchase. For shareholders, the key questions are timing, execution cost, governance safeguards (who decides when to buy/sell), and how the company will protect minority owners from dilution.

What to watch next

• Whether Metaplanet prices the offering in the Sept. 9–11 window and whether it upsizes the sale toward the maximum 555 million shares.

• How quickly Metaplanet deploys proceeds into BTC purchases and whether it discloses a phased buying schedule to limit market impact. 

• Reactions from institutional investors and any Japanese regulatory commentary about the size and cross-border structure of the raise. 

• Any additional corporate governance measures Metaplanet proposes to protect existing shareholders from dilution, such as shareholder rights plans or staggered issuance tranches. 

Not financial or investment advice.